


Pi and Darcy Day

by MagicalMysteryGirl



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Awesome Darcy Lewis, F/M, Fluff, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Pi Day, Pi and Darcy Day, Pie, Pizza, Tony Has Issues, Tony Stark Can Cook, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Still Has Arc Reactor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-15
Updated: 2017-03-15
Packaged: 2018-10-05 20:51:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10316732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagicalMysteryGirl/pseuds/MagicalMysteryGirl
Summary: It was the biggest secret in the Tower. Darcy Lewis's birthday was a date only known to one man. It was just a convenient coincidence that it happened to fall on his favorite nerd holiday.After another science!bender, Tony is passively reminded of the holiday and its significance, sending him on a mission to try and make it up to Darcy with a more traditional Pi and Darcy Day.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! 
> 
> This story was written just over a year ago now, but Pi day came and went last year without me posting this. So, despite the fact that Pi Day was yesterday, I thought I'd actually follow through and post this. Hopefully you all like it!
> 
> A few notes, this takes place after Avengers: Age of Ultron, but as it was written before Civil War, that movie doesn't take place. Everyone still lives in the Tower, they just train at the other facility, and Tony still has his arc reactor, because...he just does. 
> 
> Hope you all enjoy the fluffy little-bit-of-nothing story!

Tony Stark was angry.

It wasn’t anything new, at least not recently (not since nearly a year ago when Pepper had walked away following the Ultron debacle with a long winded speech about Tony being irresponsible and her not being able or willing to put up with him and all his issues anymore), but it was worse today than most. Of course, he wasn’t entirely certain what today _was_ , considering he’d probably been in his lab floor for a few days now, but that also wasn’t exactly new.

What was new, however, was someone actually daring to encroach upon his space and somehow successfully managing to turn off his moody music while he was in such a state. Normally, the other occupants of the Tower would simply let him disappear into his labs for days without checking on him—which happened even more frequently after his massive screw up with Ultron—but he didn’t particularly care to pull away from the insides of Falcon’s new wing-pack to figure out who was dumb enough to try and mess with him right now.

“Turn around and walk away,” he ordered, not looking away from the control chip he was sliding into place, “I’m not in the mood for whatever problem your facing; so unless the world is ending, I’ll deal with it later.”

The silence in his lab continued, letting him know that whoever it was, they weren’t leaving. Footsteps sounded as the only other human occupant of the room moved closer to where he was hunched over his project. Well, that eliminated at least three members of his team as possible perpetrators (Barton, Romanov and Rogers could be pretty sneaky when they wanted to be).

“No problems here Gear-head,” Darcy Lewis’s voice only slightly caught him off guard a moment later.

Sighing, Tony forced himself to keep his eyes averted from the younger woman; it was a struggle, seeing as how he’d come to care and respect her more than most people in his life (definitely more than a man his age should respect or care for a woman as young as Darcy was). Over the last few months Darcy had been one of the few people he knew who hadn’t condemned and somewhat ostracized him for what he’d done. If anything, she’d become more attentive, taking her scientist wrangling to a whole new level to make sure he ate, slept and showered on a semi-regular basis.

He’d found himself growing stupidly attached to the young woman, she’d become the one glowing beacon in his shadow infested existence since the day he’d met her. Even when he’d been with Pepper he’d known his attraction to Darcy was more than just a passing fancy (he’d felt guilty about it, but he knew he’d never act on it as long as he was with Pepper so he’d moved on). Since Pepper had left him with his heart shattered in a billion unfixable pieces, Darcy Lewis had stepped into his life in a big way.

She made him smile, made him laugh; few people could bring him out of a funk (like the one he was currently in) like Darcy could. Unfortunately for them both, today was one of those days he really just wanted to wallow in his anger and self-hatred. He didn’t deserve, nor did he want, whatever levity Darcy was likely to try and bring into his stifling lab (that was a bold face _lie_ ; he craved it, craved _her_ , but it was a fact of life that he was never going to be that lucky so he forced himself to believe it).

“Then what do you want Lewis?” he snapped, wanting her as far away from him and his uncanny ability to ruin everything as quickly as possible, “I’m a little busy right now.”

There was a faint sound of ceramic hitting metal that told him she’d brought him food but he still didn’t look up. Not until her hand was on his cheek gently pulling his attention from his project to meet her gaze. Frowning down at her as he noticed her sad smile (he may be a jerk most of the time, but even he knew Darcy Lewis should never be anything but brilliantly happy. That the sadness in her smile may have been caused by him makes his chest hurt and only reinforcef the belief that he was doing her a favor by maintaining maximum distance between them) he searched her eyes to try and find a reason for the negative emotion.

Her eyes dropped briefly to his lips as she licked her own before she met his inquisitive stare once more, “Happy Pi day Tony,” she murmured, her other hand lifting to cradle the back of his head as she pulled herself up to press a lingering kiss to the corner of his lips; just shy of where he really wanted them.

His breath escaped him in a soft gasp and his chest squeezed again as she pulled away with a slightly brighter smile. She licked her lips again before she turned on her heel and scurried from his lab without anything further said between them.  The second the elevator doors slid shut behind her, his music returned, as loud and nitty-gritty as before, pulling a wince from him. 

Suddenly he wasn’t feeling so angry anymore.

Sighing as he finally pulled his stare away from the closed elevator doors he glanced over his lab and shook his head. That woman was incredible and he was all sorts of crazy-stupid in love with her. He knew all the reasons he had for staying away were valid, and someday she’ll probably thank him, but it didn’t make it any easier to stay away. See, the thing was, he knows that as far gone on her as he is, she’s pretty gone on him too.  While he wouldn’t go as far as to say Darcy’s in love with him, she certainly feels _something_ for him, and it’s not whatever father/daughter crap Barton likes to spout about whenever he spots Tony not-so-subtly flirting with Darcy. (Tony Stark flirts, it’s a thing, everyone knows it’s a thing; if it actually means something with Darcy, well, only he has to know).

Rubbing the back of his neck as he requested a change in music, Tony turned around to go back to his project only to catch sight of the small plate of cherry pie with one melting scoop of ice cream on top resting on top of his work table. Only then did Darcy’s words actually sink in; Pi Day?

“FRIDAY,” he called to his AI as he picked up the fork resting on the plate, “What day is it today?”

He’d stabbed a bite of his favorite pie and placed it in his mouth before FRIDAY answered, “It is five sixteen PM on March the fourteenth,” she told him.

Briefly distracted by the explosion of flavor on his tastebuds (holy mother of _Thor_ this was good pie!) Tony contentedly picked up the plate of pie only to freeze as FRIDAY’s answer finally reached his concious thoughts.

Pi Day.

 March 14th.

 Pi Day.

Darcy Day.

Darcy’s birthday was a well kept secret in the Tower. It started a few years back when she and Jane Foster had moved into the Tower with the team. Darcy had refused to give her birthday day up to Barton, who was determined to find any and every reason to make Tony throw a party (as if he needed a reason in the first place). Darcy had refused, spouting something about not wanting her birthday to be a big deal. Barton, the tenatious twerp he was, hadn’t given up, and had, in fact, brought Natasha in on his attempts to get Darcy to talk.

Soon enough the whole Tower was involved in trying to solve the mystery of when Darcy’s birthday was. Tony had even taken a shot, digging through her files to try and find something, anything that told him the day she’d been born, but Darcy had somehow managed to scour her birthdate off of every record he could find and then some. It had been pure luck that Tony had ever figured out that her birthday fell on the one day a year besides Christmas, Thanksgiving, and the Fourth of July that Darcy ever celebrated.

Pi Day.

It had been a simple passing comment about how Darcy seemed to go out of her way to make sure everyone celebrated this one day, and was it her birthday or something? Darcy had frozen, Tony had blinked and frozen as he took in her stunned body language, and then crowed victoriously for half an hour about finally doing what none of the spies and super-ninjas in the Tower had managed.

Fortunately for Darcy the others were away on a mission or something (he hardly kept track of the little things his team did) so the only person to hear his victiorious speech was JARVIS. Darcy, had frantically sworn him to secrecy, and he’d given in on the condition that she allowed him to celebrate her birthday with her each year, even if it was only under the guise of the day being a mathematically significant holiday. From that moment on, March 14th became known to Tony as Pi and Darcy Day. The one day of the year were he went out of his way to put someone else above all other things.

Darcy Day was all about Darcy. It was a day meant to be thinking about and spending time with Darcy; the fact that the holiday happened to land on his favorite nerd holiday was just a convenient coincidence. Besides, it was as good an excuse as any to repay the woman for all of the time and effort she put into working on and for him.He knew it wasn’t nearly enough considering everything she did for him and everything he felt for her, but it was all he’d allow himself. 

Swearing softly to himself as he realized he’d let himself get so caught up in his own head that he’d forgotten the significance of the day (Darcy’s _birthday_ , the one thing about Darcy that only Tony knew), Tony frowned at the wing pack on the table before deciding it could wait another day or two. Anyway, Sam was out of the Tower right now with Barton and Rogers hunting down the Winter Soldier (who, by all accounts had killed his parents, but he’d nearly destroyed the planet so he figured he had no room to point fingers; at least Barnes had the excuse of having HYDRA take away his ability to think for himself, what did Tony have?) so it didn’t really make a difference if the pack was done today or another.

Taking one last bite of the pie and ice cream, Tony set the remaining pie down on the table, “Let the lab take the night off FRIDAY,” he stated, coming to a decision about what to do, “I’ve got plans for tonight.”

“Sure thing boss,” FRIDAY acknowledged his orders, “Should I inform Miss Darcy of those plans?”

Narrowing his eyes and shaking his head Tony sighed, “Still needs some work,” he muttered to himself. FRIDAY was learning quickly, but she was no JARVIS; JARVIS would have already surmised that Tony taking the night of on such a significant night, following the visit of such a significant woman meant that Tony was likely going to be spending the newly created free time with said woman. “No FRIDAY, thank you,” he turned and headed for the elevator himself, “Penthouse,” he requested once the door slid shut behind him, “And FRIDAY make an order for the rose and daisy bouquet I was looking at the other day to be delivered in the next hour to Darcy with a note that reads ‘Sorry for being a jerk, please join me tonight at eight for dinner,” he hesitated to add the signature he knew would earn him more points than the flowers but decided to go all in, he’d been unnecessarily mean these last few days, “Apologetically yours, Annie,’” he grimaced in distaste at the nickname she’d given him after discovering his full name was Anthony.

“Yes boss,” FRIDAY paused, “The flowers will be delivered in the next half hour,” she added then.

Tony stepped out of the elevator, his mind running over his plans for the night, “Also, have the necessary ingredients for my grandmother’s pizza brought up to the penthouse kitchen,” he tugged his shirt over his head, wincing at the smell, he’d really lost it this time hadn’t he? “FRIDAY, when was the last time Darcy was in the lab?”

“You put the lab into lockdown approximately five days ago,” FRIDAY informed him, “Since then you’ve survived on granola bars, pop-tarts, coffee and Dumm-E’s shakes, Miss Darcy was unable to override the lockout codes, despite several attempts.”

His eyebrows furrowed, “How did she get in today?” he wondered.

“She finally succeeded in hacking around your lockdown procedures,” the answer was prim, but Tony sensed the approval.

“How?” he wondered.

“She used the vents Boss,” FRIDAY answered, “She entered and unlocked the lab doors from the inside and returned five minutes later with a slice of her fresh baked pie.”

Realizing he must have really been out of it not to notice Darcy slipping into his lab through the vents (part of him was amused that Barton actually managed to teach that particular skill to the Science! wrangler)Tony sighed to himself, “From now on FRIDAY,” he decided, “Lockout only keeps Darcy out for twenty-four hours,” he ordered, “Unless you deem her entrance a necessity to my health,” he added semi-reluctantly, but what wouldn’t he do for his cheeky wrangler?

“Of course Boss,” the approving tone was back.

Stripping down the rest of the way as he entered his bathroom, Tony smirked when he found the water already running and set to the perfect temperature. FRIDAY still needed some work when it came to understanding humans and their sarcasm (particularly Tony and his own particular brand of sarcasm), but she’d definitely caught on about the important things.

Washing himself down Tony stepped out of the shower ten minutes later and dried off. Moving into his bedroom he reached for his favorite pair of jeans (the ones that made Darcy stare, but he didn’t think much about the implications of that) and pulled them on over his boxer briefs before snagging a black t-shirt and tugging it over his head. He ran a quick comb through his hair before exiting his bedroom and heading for the kitchen where he found all the ingredients he was looking for gathered on the island in the middle of the room.

Few people would guess that Tony Stark was actually a fair chef when he wanted to be. It was a pass-time he didn’t use very often since it typically reminded him of the human Jarvis and the hours spent together in the kitchen working on learning recipes. The pizza recipe he was currently putting together was one of the few things he’d learned how to cook from his mother before she died, making it always brought bittersweet memories of a woman who he now recognized as being severely depressed, but who frequently told Tony she loved him, even if she never bothered to show it.

He was half way into the first part of the recipe when FRIDAY’s voice broke into his concentration, “Miss Darcy would like me to inform you that she will be here at eight, and she’ll be bringing pie.”

Smiling to himself Tony nodded, “Great,” he thought out loud, “See about turning on some tunes FRIDAY would you?” he requested.

It took a moment, but soon his penthouse apartment was filled with the significantly less angry music of his childhood. Loosing himself in the science of cooking for the next hour or so he finally looked up after he’d put the pizza in to cook a few minutes before Darcy was scheduled to arrive. Realizing his black shirt was speckled with flour he’d used on the pizza dough, he tugged it over his head as he moved for his bedroom to exchange the shirt for another black shirt with a jagged white stripe across the chest.

Deciding to pull on a black blazer as well, Tony reached for the blazer in question and pulled it on as he left his bedroom to scan the living area floor to make sure it wasn’t a mess. Finding a stray shirt or two, Tony scooped them up and tossed them into his room, aiming for the basket in the corner but falling short by a few feet.

Shrugging about the miss (so what if Barton could do better, he’s not here right now is he?)Tony moved back into the kitchen to pull out the bottle of wine he’d intended to have tonight before remembering that Darcy didn’t drink. Muttering to himself about forgetting something so important (he’d cut way back on his own alcohol intake for her sake hadn’t he?) he returned the wine to the shelf and scanned his kitchen area as he searched for another beverage option.

As neither of them particularly cared for carbonated drinks, it narrowed his options even further. Remembering that he had the stuff needed to make almond punch, a favorite of Darcy’s, he set to work putting that together.

He’d just finished stirring the beverage when FRIDAY interrupted his music to announce, “Miss Darcy is on her way to your floor boss.”

Humming his acknowledgement of the information (this _wasn’t_ a date, so why was he feeling like it was?), he did a quick check of the timer on the oven as he rinsed off his hands. He was toweling off his hands when Darcy stepped out of the elevator. Spotting her he froze without thinking; she looked amazing. Tony had seen Darcy dressed up for various functions over the years, but right now, standing there in his apartment, he didn’t think he’d ever seen her look more beautiful.

“Hey Annie,” she smirked at him as the nickname brought him back, “Where do you want these?” she lifted two pies at him, forcing him to drag his eyes from her red dress and black boots to stare at the pies.

“Uh…” he stammered, still caught up in her sleekly done hair and red lips, “Just,” he waved at the counter, “There is fine.”

Darcy’s eyebrows twitched downwards in confusion for a moment before she moved towards where he’d indicated, “You okay Tony?” she asked, her voice more serious than before, “You’ve been a little off for the last few days.”

Nodding automatically, he shrugged, “Pepper’s getting married,” he told her, “To Happy.”

A small frown pulled at Darcy’s lips, “Oh,” she seemed taken aback, which actually made him feel better, at least he wasn’t the only one who hadn’t seen that one coming, “Are you okay with that?”

“Sure,” he shrugged, “I’m more bothered by the fact that they hid it from me for so long than…you know,” he waved his hand before shoving both of them in his pockets. It was true too, he’d actually managed to move on from Pepper (with the brunette before him, but he’s trying desperately not to go there right now), but it still stung that two of his closest friends (and he and Pepper were definitely at least still that) hadn’t trusted him enough to tell him they were even dating.

Darcy nodded as if that made complete sense and surprised him by moving into his personal space to wrap her arms around his waist and press her head to his chest, “If you want to get drunk and complain about it I’m cool with that,” she offered. The offer meant more to him than was probably normal, but knowing what he did of Darcy’s childhood and her reasons for not drinking and her lack of trust for drunk people (even her closest friends) her offer took on a whole wealth of meaning; especially considering that it was her birthday.

“Nah,” he shook his head as his arms lifted to wrap around her shoulders, (who was he to turn down a Darcy hug?) “I’m good on that front,” he murmured, his chin resting on her head, “But thanks.”

“Mm-hmm,” Darcy hummed, maintaining her hold on him for much longer than was considered normal between friends.

He let her stay, not wanting to give up her closeness any sooner than he had to, “So, anyway, that’s why I’ve been…you know, all week,” he finished his apology, “I didn’t mean to snap at you when you finally broke into my lab, and I’m sorry for forgetting our yearly Pi and Darcy day tradition.”

Darcy’s head pulled back so she could look up at him with a smile, “Pi and Darcy Day, huh?” she repeated, “That sounds all official and stuff,” one hand moved from his waist to poke him in the chest, “Sounds like you might like me a little,” she tilted her head in a cutesy way that brought on a nearly overwhelming urge to duck his head and steal a kiss from her smirking lips.

Resisting the urge Tony rolled his eyes, but his mouth, once again moving ahead of his brain quipped, “A whole lot more than a little Angel.”

They both froze at his words, but just as Darcy’s lips were parting and her head was tilting in a way to indicate her confusion, the timer for the pizza went off. Thankful for the interruption Tony pulled away from Darcy, only now realizing they’d been standing close together for the better part of ten minutes, “That would be dinner,” he explained the sound needlessly, “Going with our pi theme,” he pulled the oven open and reached in with his pizza spatula to pull out the extra-large all-of-the-things pizza, “I made us pizza,” he turned carefully to set the pizza down on the cutting board he’d gotten out previously.

“ _Your special_ pizza?” Darcy squealed gleefully, automatically bringing Tony’s eyes to her. He loved seeing her happy, he was never one to let an opportunity to be the cause of her joy to go to waste and the only thing better than getting to see her joy, was being the one to cause it.

Smirking back at her, to hide the squeeze of affection he felt in his chest Tony nodded, “Yep,” he confirmed, reaching for the pizza cutter, “I was thinking pizza and a few episodes of _Community_ ,” he looked up as he finished the first cut across the pizza, “Then pie and a movie of your choice.”

Darcy laughed, “You plan on sleeping tonight?” she joked, “Because that sounds like a lot of vegging.”

“Think you can’t handle it girlie?” he snarked, reaching into a cupboard for some plates and cups.

Challenge accepted, Darcy rolled her eyes and lifted the cutting board with the pizza on it as she followed him to the entertainment area, “As long as you don’t get tired of me Annie,” she commented as she set the pizza down, “I wouldn’t want to overstay my welcome.”

Tony stared at her in stunned silence as she moved past him to go and retrieve the punch from the kitchen and found his hand reaching out to catch her arm before he’d realized it, “You’re always welcome wherever I am Darcy,” he told her seriously as he pulled her around to meet his eyes, “I don’t think it’s even possible to get tired of you.”

Huffing an unamused laugh Darcy shook her head and dragged her eyes from staring at his shirt to meet his, “You’re probably the only person who’s ever thought that,” she rolled her eyes as if the action would disguise the hurt he could see building in her eyes, “Everyone leaves Tony,” she tugged her arm free, “I’ve learned to deal with that,” she shot him a sad smile and waved a hand at him, “Even you’ll leave some day,” she shrugged, completely unaware that he suddenly felt as if she’d sucker punched him, “And I’m…you know, okay with that,” she didn’t seem okay, “That’s life.”

Then, before he could formulate anything to say she was back on her mission to retrieve the punch from the kitchen. Tony stared after her and tried to catch his breath. Did she really think that? That he was _actually_ capable of leaving her? Had he somehow given her the impression that he ever actually would?

But then it hit him, he _had_ given her that impression. Wasn’t that exactly what he’d been trying to do since the first moment he’d realized he had feelings for her? He’d been keeping her at arm’s length in an attempt to make sure that she wasn’t sucked into his darkness and consequently destroyed like everything else he’s ever cared for. But in the process of trying to keep her safe from him he’d been throwing up walls and unintentionally telling Darcy without words that he wasn’t a permanent fixture in her life, that someday he’d go on and leave her behind.

Even though that was a complete and utter lie.

He could no more leave Darcy behind or kick her out of his life than he could cut off his own hands.  She was too important, too _essential_ to him for him to even consider the possibility. As he watched Darcy return to where he was standing, staring off into space, he found himself making a decision he knew full well could change everything.

While Darcy held the potential of crushing his heart beyond repair, possibly more than Pepper and everyone he’s ever loved before, she was worth the risk. The way he figured, he could either _potentially_ hurt her in the future if and when his darkness and destructive past finally reached her, or he could _continue_ to unintentionally hurt her every time he tried to protect her.

When he thought of it that way the answer seemed clear; he loved Darcy. She deserved to know it.

Decision made, Tony offered Darcy a soft smile as she approached him, “You okay Man of Iron?” she inquired as she moved past him to set the pitcher on the coffee table next to the pizza.

“Yeah,” he reassured her, feeling a well of possibilities grow inside of him for the first time in years, “I’m doing much better,” he moved around to take a seat in the middle of his couch and watched as Darcy turned to him with a suspicious look, “I’ve just made a decision is all,” he shrugged.

Darcy took a seat next to him and waited expectantly, “And what decision is that?” she wanted to know.

Tony turned his head to take in her features, his eyes finally landing on her lips briefly before meeting her searching eyes, “I’m going to convince you that not everyone who loves you will leave you,” he finally answered, his voice low and soft, taking on a timbre he hadn’t known it could.

Frowning at him for a moment, Darcy finally rolled her eyes and chuckled, “Are you saying you love me Annie-kins?” she scoffed with a laugh that was meant to brush off his comment as if it hadn’t affected her.

Watching her seriously for a moment until her eyes returned to his, Tony nodded once, “Yeah Angel,” he confirmed even though he knew she thought he was joking. His heart was just about thundering out of his chest as he murmured his next words, “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

She clearly didn’t know how to take his words as she shifted uncomfortably for a moment in her seat before offering him a small, tight smile, “Love you too Gear-head,” she returned shifting until she was facing the screen on the far wall, “Hit it FRIDAY!” she called to his AI.

“No,” Tony negated, both her order and her words, “Not like that Darcy,” he shifted forward on the couch to be able to see her better but found her suddenly lurching to her feet.

“I’m going to go get some napkins,” she told him already brushing around the corner of the couch.

Realizing that it was either now or never, Tony hurried to follow her, “Darcy,” he called trying to catch her attention.

“Look, Tony,” Darcy started, not even looking at him as she continued to walk away, “I get that you think I’m some sort of—“

But Tony didn’t get to hear the rest of what she thought he thought she was; instead he cut her off by gently gripping her wrist to pull her back around until his other hand could cradle the side of her face as he moved in to seal his lips against hers.

At first all was still, as if the world had suddenly frozen and he had the stray thought that this was it, he’d just successfully managed to screw up one of the last good things in his life. But then her lips twitched in a brief imitation of a kiss, yet still she hesitated. He parted their lips a little to catch his breath and possibly pull away for good and suddenly she was surging against him, her hand holding the sides of his face in a grip that was almost too tight.

It was like a star had suddenly gone supernova behind his eyes and in his veins; it stole his breath and lit him on fire with want and need. He tilted his head to kiss her deeper as his other hand moved to pull her closer to him and he heard her soft gasp when his tongue prodded lightly at her lips. He didn’t exactly expect her to give in, to let him deepen their kiss even more, but he couldn’t stop his own soft groan when she did. His hand fisted in the fabric of her dress at her back as he did his best to set her world on fire, to show her that he _loved her_ and he _wasn’t going anywhere_.

Almost by mutual agreement they both slowly parted a few unnumbered moments later but he didn’t let her go too far as he pressed his forehead against hers, just breathing her in, taking in the relief and…hope he suddenly found rising in his chest.

“Like that,” he breathed a few heavy breaths later. Darcy made a confused hum that brought his eyes open though he still didn’t pull away. Lips twitching in amusement when he realized her eyes were still shut and her hands were still carded through his hair, holding him close to her, Tony clarified, “I love you like that.”

This comment finally brought Darcy’s blue eyes open to stare at him. He let her pull back a few inches to get a better look at his face and waited while she looked her fill, “Oh,” she finally sighed, a small smile beginning to take form, “That’s…” she swallowed and licked her lips as if chasing the taste of him.

She watched him mirror her action with intense focus before her eyes met his own amused stare. With a roll of her eyes she pulled his head down once more to claim his lips with hers. One of her hands in his hair slid free and scratched lightly at the stubble on his jaw before sliding down his neck and down over his chest to rest over his heart as if looking for physical proof that he actually felt the way he did. His heart was pounding double time in his chest so he wasn’t worried about what she found.

A content humming sound reached his ears and he smirked a little into their kiss, only for his attention to be stolen by Darcy lightly biting his lower lip as she pulled away. She licked it once in a soothing gesture before kissing him again briefly as she returned to the flats of her feet, “Tony,” she panted as she pulled back, causing his eyes to open to find her watching him with a small smile, “I love you like that too,” she murmured, the hand on his heart moving up to cradle his jaw.

“I’m not going to leave you,” he needed to make sure she understood that.

A vulnerable glint rose in her eyes as she watched her thumb brush softly just under the corner of his eye, “You sure?” she questioned, blinking some water from her blue gaze.

Tony used his hand on her waist to pull her more tightly into his grasp, “Absolutely,” he nodded, hoping his expression communicated how serious about this he was, “This is for real, Angel,” he lowered his hand from being buried in her hair to the side of her neck, “This is date nights, annoying, sappy text messages, infinite kisses, marriage, never ending love, happily ever after kind of real,” his eyes flitted back and forth between hers to make sure she understood, “It’s also paparazzi, long Science!benders, superhero-ing, enemies, fights, avoiding conversations about feelings, crappy communication and more darkness then I ever wanted to bring into your life.”

Darcy’s eyes widened suddenly as if she were realizing something or drawing some sort of (probably correct) conclusions from his words, “You’re right,” she agreed, licking and pressing her lips together but shaking her head all the while, “The paparazzi will likely have a field day,” she affirmed, “But they’ll get over it, and the whole Science! thing isn’t exactly new, nor,” she took a step closer and dropped her eyes to the lapel of his blazer as she adjusted it before meeting his intent stare once more, “is the superhero-ing or the enemies. I don’t know if you’ve heard,” she smirked up at him, “But you are Iron Man,” she told him as if he had forgotten or hadn’t known.

That brought an abrupt bark of laughter from him, “I think I heard that somewhere,” he nodded, his eyes dropping briefly to her lips but reining in the urge to kiss her senseless.

“I would never dream of keeping you from being who you are in here,” she tapped his chest just over the arc reactor, “That wouldn’t be fair to you, nor would I be willing to change you from the man I fell in love with into someone who stayed out of the fight because I was too selfish to let him be someone else’s hero for a while,” she smiled softly up at him, and his breath caught briefly at the sincerity in her words; being Iron Man had been a large source of conflict between him and Pepper, but Darcy just seemed so accepting.

“As for fights,” Darcy went on, “You know I can give as good as I get,” she sent him an arrogant smirk, “or do you not remember the argument about that fundraiser three years ago?” Tony chuckled a little because he certainly did, he was pretty sure the whole Tower remembered that argument, “And communication isn’t exactly my strong suit either,” she murmured, “But I’m willing to try and keep trying if you are,” she shifted in place a little somehow bringing herself even closer to him, “And as long as you just remember to remind me about how you feel for me every now and then…I think that more than makes up for whatever darkness you think you’re bringing into my life.”

Tony carefully brushed some hair back from her face, wondering how they’d come to be at this point, wondering how he’d gotten so lucky.  Darcy interrupted him before he could voice his questions looking a little lost in thought, “To be honest Tony,” she murmured, “My life hasn’t been all sunshine and daisies,” she shook her head, “There’s probably been more darkness than light, but,” she swallowed and dropped her eyes from his to stare at the glowing arc reactor in his chest, “When I’m here in the Tower, when I’m with the team or better yet, when I’m with you,” she forced her eyes back up to meet his, “You make the shadows disappear,” she told him honestly, her eyes bright, “I can only hope that one day I can be that for you, that I can prove that you are more than just a man in a suit of armor, but a hero, _my_ hero.”

Heart squeezing, Tony couldn’t stand her scrutiny anymore and he tugged her into a tight hug, burying his face in her neck, “You are that for me,” his words were muffled by her skin, “You’re my hero; my Angel.”

Darcy audibly gasped at his comment, probably piecing together the connections between her words and his favored nickname for her. Her hands slid into his hair comfortingly, holding him to her for a long moment before speaking again, “So…you and I…” she trailed off hesitatingly, “What are we?”

Reluctantly pulling back so he could look at her Tony answered as honestly as he could, “We’re forever,” he really had no other words for them than that, cheesy though it may be.

Fortunately that seemed to be enough for Darcy’s whole countenance seemed to light up, “Forever,” she agreed, taking his hands and losing herself in his stare of wonder, “So um,” she tilted her head back towards the screen, “Pizza?” she reminded him, “Movies and Pi?”

Tony smiled and nodded, tugging her after him as he moved back to the entertainment area, “Start the show FRIDAY,” he requested, pulling on Darcy’s hand until she was seated next to him, earning him a small giggle that brought a smile to his own lips.

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked it, let me know please! Comments and kudos are the air I breathe and the sustenance I require to survive in RealLife; every little word helps! 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
